From the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic
Blake Cahail	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 3,275,000	59.68 %	41.62 %	25.0 %
Mike Sowers	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 1,525,000	39.79 %	58.38 %	75.0 %	Winner!

Posted On: Apr 02, 2009

Outcome

Preflop: Final table, eight players remaining, with the blinds at 25,000-50,000 with a 5,000 ante, Cahail raised to 125,000 from late position, Sowers called on the button, Ferguson (1.1 million) called in the big blind. On the flop, Ferguson checked, Cahail checked, Sowers bet 250,000, Ferguson folded, Cahail check-raised all in, Sowers called and was all in.

Analysis

Sowers flopped top pair with a gutshot-straight redraw and simply bet once his opponents checked it around to him. Cahail had his opponent out-chipped and had flopped the nut-flush draw. Cahail check-raised all in on a semi-bluff, putting Sowers to a tournament-life decision. With eight players remaining at the table and a highly coordinated board, Sowers couldn’t have been thrilled with the check-raise and the call involved. His opponent could easily have had two pair, even a straight or a set, and a bad call could cost him a shot at the increasingly lucrative pay spots ahead. A fold would have left Sowers in fair shape with almost 20 big blinds. Sowers may have suspected that most of these hands would rarely check such a coordinated board in a three-way pot. He had a legitimate hand with some redraw potential, and possibly a read on his opponent, so he made the big call. Cahail’s use of tournament leverage with a nut draw was a strong play, but it certainly was not a dry board, and a call was a good possibility. Sowers had given him a fair enough price to get to the turn with his flush draw; he had the option of calling 250,000 for the 735,000 in the pot. Sowers catapulted to the chip lead with a tough call, while Cahail’s semi-bluff into the coordinated board backfired and left him in sixth of the remaining eight players.